Tia Rains

Tia Rains, PhD has a diverse work experience spanning over several years. Tia is currently the VP of Science, Innovation & Corporate Affairs at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc., where they lead a cross-functional team of food scientists, chefs, marketers, communications specialists, and consumer insights professionals. Tia has also launched an innovation platform that generates new ingredient technologies for B2B food customers and established a Corporate Communications team.

Before that, Tia worked as the VP of Customer Engagement & Strategic Development at the same company, where they led the Food Innovation Team and was responsible for generating a pipeline of new ingredient technologies. Tia also built a Corporate Communications team to support internal and external communications.

Prior to their role at Ajinomoto, Tia served as the Senior Director of Public Relations, leading a PR/communications effort to change perceptions of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Tia was the media spokesperson for the company and took charge of broader communications initiatives.

At the Egg Nutrition Center, Tia held the position of Executive Director, overseeing all aspects of the organization including health professional engagement. Tia effectively managed a substantial budget and spearheaded the rebranding of the organization. As the Senior Director of Nutrition Research & Communications, Tia was responsible for translating new study findings into compelling communications for key stakeholders.

Tia's earlier experiences include roles at Biofortis Clinical Research as the Sr. Director of Metabolic Sciences and at Provident Clinical Research & Consulting, Inc. as the Director of Medical Writing/Principal Scientist.

Finally, Tia's career began at Kraft Foods where they served as an Associate Principal Scientist.

Tia Rains, PhD, obtained their Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Food Science and Nutrition from Arizona State University, where they studied from 1989 to 1993. Following this, they pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1993 until 1998.